Let us explain – listen carefully. Erickson knew how to trust his unconscious to guide people into trance.

And even to help them to overcome their deepest emotional struggles… but he wasn’t aware of how he was doing it.

That is until Bandler and Grinder stumbled into his world. After a period of some time, they successfully modeled Erickson’s rich and vibrant language patterns.

Fast forward to today…

Here’s what it means for you – you’re about to receive a succinct breakdown of what Erickson initially, and unknowingly, formulated.

When you master the Milton Model, you’ll be able to work directly with your subject’s unconscious.

So let’s get this show on the road!

There are 15 Milton Model language patterns, which deserve their own mini-book if we’re going to get down to the nitty gritty details of each.

But to get a brief breakdown of what these famous language patterns are, keep reading!

1. Cause And Effect

One thing will cause another thing to happen. It’s linking two things together.

“Breathing in and out will cause you to feel more relaxed.”

NOTE: The word because can lead to a cause and effect.

“Because you’re breathing in and out you can relax more deeply now.”

2. Complex Equivalent

One thing means another thing.

“The fact that you’re reading this article means you’re learning these patterns at a deep level.”

3. Mind Reading

When you state something you don’t know is absolutely true. Done well, it appears as if you’re reading someone’s mind. We’ll give you an example to prove this point…

“You might be wondering…ok what’s next?”

“I know that you’re eager to learn these language patterns.”

4. Lost Performative

A value judgement where you’ve lost the performer. You don’t know who’s made the value judgement. Ever have a gut reaction of: “Says who?” Good chance you’ve come across a lost performative.

“Boys will be boys” vs. “My friends mom said boys will be boys”

“Relaxation is good for you” vs. “My yoga teacher said relaxation is good for you.”

“Hypnosis is great for your mind” vs “Igor said hypnosis is great for your mind.”

“You can relax deeply when you close your eyes” vs. “My therapist said you can relax deeply when you close your eyes.”

“I can’t lose weight!” vs. “My mom told me I can’t lose weight!”

5. Modal Operators

There are two modal operators. Necessity and possibility.

Necessity – words you can use are must, need, should, have to and shouldn’t.

“I have to win”

“You need to close your eyes to relax deeply”

“You have to want to quit smoking for hypnosis to work”

“You need to master these language patterns to become more influential”

Possibility – words you can use are can, might, could, can’t and won’t.

“You can’t resist going into trance”

“You can allow yourself to drift deeper into trance, can’t you?”

“You might be able to see a bright future ahead of you”

“You can become more influential if you master these language patterns”

6. Universal Quantifier

A strong generalization that is always true or never true. There’s no middle ground. Words to use are never, everyone, nobody and always.

“I can never do anything right!”

“I always mess up!”

“Everyone can go into trance!”

“Nobody can resist relaxing deeply when the right conditions are met!”

7. Nominalization

A verb that doubles as a noun. It’s an attempt to turn a process into a thing. For example, relaxation is a nominalization. It’s the process of relaxing.

“You can enjoy this relaxation”

“You might notice your depression melting away”

“You’ll enjoy this comfort filling up your body”

And next…we’ve got…

8. Unspecified Verb

A verb that isn’t properly described. You don’t tell people how.

“Close your eyes and relax.”

“You can close your eyes and relax.”

“You can become amazed at your positive changes.”

9. Tag Question

A tag question helps to weaken and soften resistance. These are commonly used in sales.

“You want to master language patterns, don’t you?”

“You can imagine using tag questions, can’t you?”

“You’re getting a better grasp on language patterns, aren’t you?”

“You’re going to finish this article, aren’t you?”

10. Lack of Referential Index

A statement that fails to identify a part of the listener’s experience.

Example: “A person can go into trance.”

11. Comparative Deletion

This is a verbal deletion of what one thing is being compared to. There isn’t a specific reference to what or whom is being deleted.

“You’ll enjoy drifting deeper into trance.” Which begs the question – deeper or more than what?

“This is better direction to move in life.” Better than what direction?

12. Pace Current Experience

This is simply stating what is happening in someone’s current experience. NOTE: You’re not guessing what’s happening. You’re only mentioning/saying what’s verifiable.

Let’s explain this with an example.

“You’ve been reading this article on the Hypnosis Training Academy blog. You’ve either read the entire article up to this point or you’ve skimmed it a bit… and you’ve just read about pacing statements… perhaps you can imagine using pacing statements in the future, can you not?”

If you look over that again, you’ll notice a pattern. There were 3 verifiable statements. It was then followed up with a statement of possibility.

Pacing statements help to “grease the track.” Which is just another way of saying they move the conversation down the path of least resistance. You’re getting an unconscious yes with each verifiable statement. When you follow them up with a mind read it’s more easily accepted as true.

Perhaps you want another example.

“You’ve been reading about the milton model patterns (yes). You’ve made it to this section about pacing statements (yes). You can feel the temperature of the air on your skin (yes). And you might be wondering whats next? (yeah I guess you’re right).